Surgery Update: Day 5

Sadie's doing better and better each day. Yesterday afternoon I noticed that she was back down to 12 staples, but didn't tell the vet. To be honest, I don't feel like they are in that securely... Why didn't they just use stitches? But the wound is not seeping or bleeding much anymore and I think there are enough staples still in there to keep it together.

My sister Sharon and bro-in-law Chaz came for a weekend visit. They were a little shocked to see the incision in person - it's pretty gnarly. But Sadie was SO happy to see them, and we've had a great time so far.

She does put more and more weight on it, which is very encouraging. I think she's getting used to the e-collar, but it's very comical to watch her bump into things. She just freezes and waits until you tell her to keep going.

Surgery Update: Day 3

This morning I came down to discover that Sadie had taken it upon herself to remove the top two staples of her incision. Great! I had just called the vet last night since I was concerned that her wound was seeping some blood (guess that's normal). Now I had to call again and then bring her in to have them replaced. They told me that her "e-collar" was too small and she could still reach the incision even with it on. Doug later told me that when he came down early this morning, she had managed to get it completely off!

So now she has 13 staples and a new KING size e-collar. She's resting on old towels and tied up to a dumbbell. Hopefully no more drama tonight!

My Poor Baby

I was able to pick Sadie up this afternoon, by myself. THANK YOU a MILLION times, Kristi, for watching the girls during their nap so I could do that. It's a 40 minute drive each way and I would've had to do it during evening rush hour, otherwise. Yuck.

Sadie's doing well. Still a bit drugged-up and dopey. Hopefully she'll get some appetite back tomorrow. She was crying for a while in the car and then fell asleep. Same story at home. She just wants to lay down and have her ears rubbed.

We are to keep her on a 3 ft. leash or in her kennel at all times for the next 4-8 weeks. And I have to put the dish collar on when we can't be with her.

Here's a post-op picture. If you're into medical stuff, feel free to zoom in and count the dozen staples in her knee!

Sunflower Girls

I had F and C make a cute fall craft today. Didn't they turn out well? It involved two of C's favorite things - cutting AND gluing!

Surgery Success!

I just got a call from Dr. V, as he had just finished Sadie's surgery. She did great! She was supposed to go in at 8:30 am, but they had a heart operation that took precedence. I can understand that. Here's all the gory details:

• On first glance, he thought her ligament was about 60% damaged. He applied a slight pressure to it and it instantly snapped in half. Dr. V said any one big impact she had could have easily broken it all the way, so we definitely made the best decision to do surgery now.
  
• Her meniscus was not damaged at all, which is very good news
  
• He trimmed the torn ligament, inserted the TightRope apparatus and double tested the joint. He was confident that it is very stable and was extremely pleased with the result
  
• The whole thing took 1 1/2 hours, his best one yet
  
• She's the 18th one he has done
  
• Sadie will start some morphine and be there overnight and most of tomorrow
  

I'll get a call tomorrow morning to update me on her condition and let me know when to pick her up! I'll post a picture of her in the lovely purple cone collar we bought for her to wear. She's going to LOVE me...

Thanks for your concerns and prayers. I'm so relieved that it's done and now have to steel myself for her long recovery process.

The Latest and Greatest

sewing project! Any guesses as to what these rich fabrics will become?

A Decision Made

I talked with our vet Monday morning, regarding our decision to forgo surgery and see what happens keeping Sadie on restriction for 8 weeks. He was not in favor of this at all. He even said that he feels that making the decision to postpone surgery is the same as making a decision not to do it at all. His reason was that her arthritis would progress so far that many benefits of the TPLO would not affect her. I told him that I did not want to do TPLO because I feel it is just too invasive, and asked if he knew about the brand new Tightrope surgery. He said he was aware of it, but thought it was basically a "glorified banding technique" which has historically not worked for large dogs. But, if we were interested, he did know a doc who was performing the surgeries in a neighboring city. Yes I was interested! So the next night, Doug and I took Sadie to see "Dr. V" in Fishers.

Long story short, we liked him a lot, asked many questions, got estimates for everything related to the surgery and gave it a lot of thought and prayer. It is still expensive, but only half of what TPLO would be and sounds like it is a great alternative. Dr. V thought Sadie only had a partial tear, which is good.

I have her scheduled for this coming Thursday. She will be on extreme restriction for 4 weeks and then can start some light daily walks. After 8 weeks she can take some longer walks and after 12 weeks max, she should be 100%! This is a new surgery and so no long-term promises can be made, but with all my research and "gut" feel, this is the best option for her. She's only 4 years old and we hope to see her back to running and jumping and frisbee catching for many more years.

Thanks for all the support regarding this. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to talk to you about it. It feels good to have the decision made. Now we need to pray for a successful surgery and speedy recovery. I'll keep you posted!